Save the Children Launches Mental Health Campaign for Families during COVID-19

Virtual learning. Social distancing. Stress at home. It's little wonder that the Coronavirus pandemic has impacted our mental health, and yet it's a discussion that often gets ignored and neglected. According to a survey by global non-profit organisation ‘Save the Children’, around 40% of parents report an increase in negative parenting techniques during the pandemic. 51% of families have suffered from income losses, and 37% have witnessed more violence. To address these mounting issues at home, ‘Save the Children’ has launched a mental health campaign in Egypt.

The campaign – entitled #حمايتك_أمانهم ( ‘your protection is their safety’)– provides parents and caregivers with tools to educate their children at home, without mismanaging their stress and lashing out on others. It also focuses on a different mental health topic every month through social media and organises webinars, along with the participation of celebrities and social media influences. Just last month, the campaign organised a webinar  on the importance of mental health during virtual learning and the challenges faced by children during the pandemic, featuring Ola Roshdy alongside notable mental health experts in Egypt, including Professor and Secretary of the Egyptian Society of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Dr. Maha Emad El-Din, Department Director at the General Secretariat of Mental Health Dr. Iman Jaber, and Save the Children Consultant Dr. Sameh Yousry.

“40% of children feel that they are not being heard while nearly two-thirds of children say that their parents do not ask for their opinion,” said Tamer Kirolos, Save the Children's Country Director in Egypt. “One of our most important duties towards children is to provide parents with information... so that they can provide a healthy and safe environment for their children."

To learn more about the campaign, visit facebook.com/SCEgypt.